A Sirius Fanfic
by snorkack
Summary: While Harry is living his life at Hogwarts, Sirius is in hiding, moving from place to place and just trying to survive and manage to stay hidden. This is a story about the life of Sirius during this point in time.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the character Sirius Black.

Chapter 1

Sirius woke with a start. He had been sleeping in a small, secluded area of the cave he was staying in, where he was pretty sure no one would find him. His sleep had probably been one of the few closest ones to being peaceful, for sleep was never peaceful in his world. He was convicted of being a Death Eater and a notorious murderer. He was neither of these, and a few people out there knew it, but as far as the general population went, he was in league with Voldemort, had murdered and betrayed innocent people, and was a highly dangerous killer on the loose. _That last part might be true, _thought Sirius with a grim chuckle. It was true, if anyone were to cross Sirius' path and dare to challenge him, they might not be so lucky as to live another day. Another minute, in fact.

Suddenly, he froze. His dog ears, for he was in his Animagus form of a huge black dog, had picked up a sound. His impulse was to hide and go even further into the unknown depths of the cave, but his curiosity told him to investigate and figure out what it was. He stayed still for a few long minutes, and after hearing no voices and seeing no signs of anyone, he was pretty sure there was no one there and it was probably only an animal looking for somewhere to sleep. He relaxed slightly and walked out of his hiding area closer to the open mouth of the cave. _That was fortunate, _he thought to himself, _but you still need to be more careful. Sirius, no matter where you may be hiding, there are witches and wizards everywhere, and many of them are looking for you. Never let curiosity get the better of you. Your instinct to hide when you sense someone coming is what will keep you safer from getting caught. _He sighed, and padded slowly towards the mouth of the cave to see if he could find anything to eat. His eyes scanned the cave in search of rats or anything else that could satisfy his seemingly endless hunger.

As he looked over the right side of the cave, he stopped abruptly and his whole body stiffened as his eyes locked onto something. Right next to the mouth of the cave, huddled close to the wall, curled up as much as possible, was a human. After taking a few steps closer, he could tell it was a girl, probably a young teenager or close to her teenage years.

_Whoever it is, I'm not taking any chances, _thought Sirius, and turned to retreat into his secluded area. However, he whirled around sharply when he heard a noise behind him. _That was stupid, _he snapped at himself inwardly. _How many times has it been when an enemy has attacked there prey while their back was turned?_

However, Sirius soon realized that, if the girl was an enemy, she had no plans of attacking at the moment, because the sound he had heard was just a sniff. Apparently, the girl had been crying. _She probably came here to hide, _thought Sirius. _I'll just wait until she leaves, and then I'll get something to eat. _As he walked back, slowly so as to not make any noise, he looked back at the girl to make sure she hadn't noticed him. While his head was turned, he lost sight of where he was going and tripped over a sharp rock, which cut a sharp gash in his front left paw. Automatically, he let out a cry of pain and frustration, then forced himself to be quiet as he realized what he had done. Hoping that the girl hadn't heard, he got up and, once again, began padding towards his hiding spot, which took a lot more time and a lot more effort since he could not step on his front left paw. _Well, today is definitely my day for making stupid mistakes, _he grumbled inside his mind.

"Wait!" The girl had moved from her place against the wall, and was now standing up, staring at Sirius in dog form.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own the character Sirius Black, he was created by J.K. Rowling. **

Chapter 2

At the sound of the girl's voice, Sirius froze, and swore inside his mind.

"Wh-what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Sirius stared at her, unsure what to do, but still naturally suspicious of the girl's intentions. The girl walked over to him, an expression of concern on her face. She was tall and thin, and very pale, with dark wavy hair pulled back into a braid. Her hazel eyes were filled with worry, and as she came close to him, she kneeled down beside him.

"I heard a cry, and it sounded like something had happened…I'm not sure if you can understand me, but…"

Sirius laughed inwardly at this remark. _If you only knew, _he thought. He wasn't sure whether the girl was a witch or a Muggle, but either way he knew that he would be recognized if he was to show her his human form, since he had appeared in both the magical and the Muggle news. The girl took his injured paw and examined it.

"Oh, that looks horribly painful…If only I had my wand…."

_So she was a witch, _noticed Sirius, _and a wandless one at that. _He felt a stab of pity for the girl, for he had never in his life lived without a wand, and he could only imagine how difficult it must be for a witch or wizard to be without one. On the bright side, it meant that the girl was much less of a threat, since she had no magical means of attacking him. _But how do I know if she's telling the truth? _wondered Sirius, his paranoia increasing.

The girl sighed, looking downcast, when all of a sudden her entire face lit up.

"There's water over there!" She ran over to the shallow pool of water at the back of the cave, then looked back at Sirius. "Come on!"

Sirius, even though he was still not sure what to think of the girl, walked over to her, still struggling to walk with only three paws. He sat down at the edge of the water, and the girl took his paw and washed the blood off. The water was cold, but it was refreshing to have it run over his paw, and once the girl had stopped washing it, he was relieved to notice he had stopped bleeding.

"I hope that's better…sorry I can't do anything more…" She looked completely disappointed in herself that there was nothing more she could do. Impulsively, before his logic and sense could take over, he grabbed the sleeve of the girl's black sweater and pulled on it, walking toward his hiding spot where his wand was carefully hidden. Pulling it out, he picked it up with his teeth and dropped it in the girl's hand.

"Is-is this YOUR wand?" she asked tentatively.

Sirius nodded.

The girl gasped. "Are you…are you magical, then?"

Sirius nodded again.

The girl looked at him, and asked "Is this your true form?"

Sirius shook his head.

"Why are you in this form? Has someone hexed you?"

Again, Sirius shook his head.

"Then why are you like this? Have you chosen to be like this?"

Sirius nodded.

"Why?" the girl pressed.

Sirius gave no answer. He knew that he could easily transform back into a human, but he was highly afraid of recognition, and it would be too difficult for him to explain it to her while still remaining in dog form. The girl seemed to realize this, and sighing softly, she took Sirius' paw in one hand and his wand in the other, pointing the wand at his paw.

"Episkey," she said, and at once his paw was healed. Sirius was grateful for this, and his impulse was to change into his human form and give the girl his utmost gratitude. He knew, however, that this was not safe, so he had to settle for a soft nuzzle, which the girl kindly excepted.

"I'm sorry for intruding in your cave," the girl said. "I- well, if I tell you why I'm here, would you promise not to betray me, no matter what happens?"

Sirius nodded. _As if I even could, _he thought.

The girl sat down in Sirius' hiding spot. "Would you like to sit in my lap?" she asked him. Surprised, but not annoyed, Sirius obliged, and curled up on top of the girl's thin legs as she began to tell her story.


End file.
